Felix Wong then spoke to her in a Chinese dialect. He translated her brief reply: “So sorry, but I know nothing about the person you speak of.”
Felix thanked her and the three boys left. Outside, Tom suggested that he and Bud try another street, while Felix continue alone on this one.
Felix agreed that this might be wise. “If any of REPELATRON RESCUE 113
the people you call on speak only Chinese, I will question them later,” he promised.
“Good! We’ll meet you in a little while at the corner of Ferry and Spruce.”
The two boys continued to the next street. It was dingy and dimly lighted, with old-fashioned houses built close to the sidewalk.
Tom and Bud rang the bell at the first house, a grimy red-brick dwelling. A huge, burly American, wearing a jersey, opened the door. His face, revealed by the light of the nearby street lamp, was broad and battered.
“Yeah? Whaddaya want?” the man grunted.
Tom, having expected to see an Oriental, was somewhat taken aback. “We thought a Chinese family lived here,” the young inventor explained.
“They do, but they’re not home. I just board here with ‘em.”
The surly giant was about to slam the door in the boys’ faces when Bud quickly stuck his foot in the doorway. “We’re looking for a fellow named Sam Wah,” Bud said. “Do you know him?”
“Naw. Never heard of him.”
“Olin Whaley?” Tom inquired.
The question had a startling effect on the tough-looking American. He scowled angrily and glared at Tom and Bud for a moment. Then suddenly his two huge hands shot out. Grabbing each of the youths’ arms in a tight grip, he hauled them inside and kicked the door shut with his foot!
Page: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 125 126 127